Ketel Marte plays hero as D-backs top Phillies in NLCS Game 3

PHOENIX – With the bases loaded in the bottom of the ninth inning of Game 3 on Thursday, the Arizona Diamondbacks got the game they wanted.

Their best hitter came to the plate against Philadelphia Phillies closer Craig Kimbrel, who was trying to get out of a jam. Ketel Marte was having none of it.

The Diamondbacks second baseman threw a 96 mph rising fastball, sending it into right-center field to break a 1-1 tie and give Arizona a 2-1 victory — its first of this series National League championships.

Chase Field exploded.

“I’m not a man who puts pressure,” Marte said later. “I know what kind of hitter I am. He threw me a fastball and I took a good swing.”

The victory brought new life to the Diamondbacks, who now trail 2-1 in this best-of-seven series with Games 4 and 5 scheduled at home Friday and Saturday, respectively.

Marte had six of Arizona’s 17 hits (35%) in this NLCS, tied for the fifth most through three games in a playoff series all-time.

“I played against him a lot when I was in San Diego,” teammate Tommy Pham said. “He was always hitting. Very difficult guy to defend.”

The winning run was scored after a tense game featuring a pitching duel between starters Brandon Pfaadt and Ranger Suarez, who both left without giving up a run. Pfaadt struck out nine in 5.2 innings, allowing just two hits and no walks to become the fifth rookie in major league history with more than nine strikeouts and no runs allowed in a game elimination. He was denied the chance to face the top-ranked players for a third time, including Kyle Schwarber, whom he had struck out twice.

“He was great,” Pham said of Pfaadt. “If anything, I would have left him there. You don’t want to take out a guy like that with that much momentum on our side. Let him continue.”

Arizona manager Torey Lovullo had to explain his decision in his postgame press conference; seven of the first eight questions asked concerned travel.

“It’s 18 batters plus or minus four, depending on the score, depending on the situation,” Lovullo said. “We had a back bullpen that hadn’t pitched and they were going to pitch this game no matter what. I wanted to get the whole team involved, and there was a part of the bullpen that had several days leave. I wanted to sharpen them also.

“Why make him go through this part of the lineup?”

Asked about his withdrawal, Pfaadt added: “Obviously I’m a competitor. I want to keep going. Everybody does, but at the end of the day you just have to trust your decision and move forward, go to the “bullpen, let them do their job.”

Reliever Andrew Saalfrank entered the game and walked Schwarber before Trea Turner ended up on a fielder’s choice. Saalfrank wasn’t so lucky in the seventh inning, walking Bryce Harper before being replaced by Ryan Thompson, whose wild pitch allowed Harper to score the game’s first run.

But Arizona tied it in the bottom of the seventh inning when Lourdes Gurriel Jr. doubled off home pinch runner Alek Thomas.

The game remained tied until Marte’s heroics.

“There were a few missed opportunities that could have affected us, but we stayed focused on the next pitch and our job and came out on top,” outfielder Corbin Carroll said. “It says a lot about the resilience of the team.”

Kimbrel was asked where he wanted that last pitch after allowing two walks and a hit before facing Marte.

“Not on his bat,” he said. “I was just trying to get another shot, and he put enough good wood on it to get a hit. … I got ahead. I feel like I made a few throws to get us through. Some days you get them, some days you don’t. Today just wasn’t my day.

The winning shot allowed Lovullo to escape and gave meaning to Pfaadt’s good outing. That also means the series will last all weekend, with the Diamondbacks needing to win one of the next two to send the series back to Philadelphia, where the Phillies are 6-0 in the postseason.

“That’s exactly what we were looking for in the first home game,” first baseman Christian Walker said. “Our dugout knew something was going to happen with Marte, and he didn’t let us down.”

Marte added: “I can see the ball well. I’ve worked hard all year. This is the player I am. I’m not surprised.”